Journey’s Neal Schon brushes aside talk of Steve Perry reunion: ‘We’re moving forward into the future’

Discussion of a Steve Perry reunion with Journey has been all the rage again, what with Perry making a long-awaited concert appearance and the band’s current frontman seemingly offering to step aside.

Neal Schon, Journey’s stalwart leader, is batting such talk aside: “People who are in past will forever stay in the past,” the guitarist says, firmly. “We’re moving forward into the future.”

Perry, a member of the group from 1978-98, helped Journey to its 1980s-era commercial peak. But he’s been largely out of the limelight since suddenly retiring just after a long-awaited return in the late 1990s.

More recently, he signed a new music publishing deal, starting talking about songwriting and even joined the Eels on stage to sing old Journey favorites like “Open Arms.” Meanwhile, Arnel Pineda — with the band since 2007 — offered a stunning tweet this week saying that Perry should “take over his righteous place” as Journey’s lead vocalist.

His boss, however, is holding steady. Schon’s new comments echo something he told the Metro West Daily News earlier this month: “People that are into the past, will forever stay in the past. It’s not a healthy thing for me or for anyone else that is here right now. I mean, if you don’t like us for whom we are right now then just don’t bother, you know? Go and find your new love.”

Something Else!

4 Comments

  1. Samuel Bronkowitz says:

    I hear Yoko White House Crasher Salahi Ono is going to become lead singer. It is all part of her master plan. Marry the millionaire rock star, get the credit card, use him to become famous even though she has no talent for anything. How long can Journey last if Yoko doesn’t get a light shined on her?

  2. Neal Schon is a fool. Like many have said, Steve Perry could do his own Journey tour with a backup band and he would once again fill stadiums. Neal Schon is not Journey, not needed, and to tour around the US with his own Journey tribute band, is just sad. If filling small venues and playing with other washed up bands is Neal Schon’s intent, then he has succeeded.

    Steve Perry is and always will be ‘Journey’, just like Steven Tyler will always be Aerosmith.

    • I honestly think Arnel’s tweet was a sign of both insecurity and
      hoping that his big Asian fan base will come out and flood sites with
      bashing Steve Perry to assure Arnel they won’t let go of him. Pathetic.
      Why can’t the guy come out and do something of his own after all these
      years without this band’s attention or the heckling of it’s new age
      fans.

      NOTE TO NEAL SCHON….Perry is not interested in
      your chucky cheese little tribute band of it’s old glory days. He’s got a
      net worth of $45 million in the bank and ICONS DO NOT SING AT FESTIVALS
      WITH COVER BANDS. He hasn’t picked up the phone to you in 10 years.
      Stop acting like he WANTS back in….He is so amazing still and does not
      even look at you.